Sunday funday! Today’s prompt is Renew, and I’ve been thinking about how to approach the topic. Renew is a verb that means to resume (an activity) after an interruption. I have historically run long, multi-year campaigns, and to keep things fresh, I ran a primary campaign that was usually longer, followed by a shorter campaign or two, to break things up.
For example, during our Pathfinder 1e pirate-themed campaign, we played the first part of the campaign for a year and a half, then took a 23-month break to play our Mutants & Masterminds campaign, and then retook the Pathfinder game for another year and a half.
For our D&D 5e campaign, we played for a little over a year. In 2017, Hurricaine María hit Puerto Rico, we were forced to take a break, then we played Stars Without Number for a year, I took some months off when my son was born, we played Down Darker Trails for a for months, and they we retook the D&D 5e campaign, but switched systems to Castles & Crusades.
Such prolonged hiatuses can be the death sentence of a campaign; how do we manage to renew interest in these different games after such long breaks? Part of it is being hard-headed. I refuse to abandon a campaign and instead return to it to continue.
A large part is player buy-in. Players are interested in their characters and stories, and they engage with the world. To achieve that engagement, I make sure to integrate their backstories and interests into the plots. Ensure that different characters have the opportunity to excel, triumph, and grow their characters, and a chance to achieve their goals.
AS a Game Master, when there is such a long hiatus, I always like to come to the gam with fresh eyes. A shift in tone, new goals, new locations, enemies, or a time-jump to shake the status quo. These are some elements that motivate me as a GM as well.
I keep copious notes and share a lot of information with players. Small handouts, image references to NPCs, online groups, and messaging tools are used to keep shared information and maintain interest in the campaign. Whenever we are renewing a campaign that has been on hiatus for a long time, I put together a primer or update as a handout to start the game anew.
Strangely, in our Current Savage Fading Suns (Fading Suns setting, Savage Worlds rules), we’ve been playing for almost three years without taking a break. I think the main reason is that we’ve had many interruptions due to my work and continued travel, being forced to play online, and there have been many types of adventures, and that variety has kept the campaign feeling fresh.
Those are examples of how we renew our games. What are some of yours? What tools do you use to keep your games new and fresh? Do you play a system that helps with this? I’d love to read your thoughts on the topic; feel free to share them here in the comments or tag me wherever you do. If you choose to join in the conversation, don’t forget to include the #RPGaDay2025 hashtag so the community can find your contribution.
